In Our Darkest Hours
by SnowDragon01
Summary: Eddy is worried, his friend Edd has become paranoid, tired, and behaves strangely towards his birthday. Eddy sets himself to uncover the truth, but he soon learns of disturbing secrets from his friend. Armed with his knowledge and resources, he fights to save Edd from a terrible fate, a fight that will lead to salvation... Or utter destruction. *NOW ADOPTED*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hey, WickedStar13 here, Im just here to tell you's all to enjoy my first fanfic sine I joined last year! It's been a joy to write this and im glad to say there's going to be six more chapters before the end. Well, happy reading!

Day One

Ed lay chomping a green apple on the damp lawn of Edd's house with Edd and Eddy in the noon light. He liked apples, the green type anyway. " The bestest apples" He thought, munching happily "come from west virginyweaselya." (Ed saw a Harry Potter movie lately and mistoke it for a lecture on geography)

"Rib- Ed" he turned his head to see a frog staring at him with it's big red eyes. "FROGGIE!" the frog was so startled he jumped high into the air with a squak and flew away.

"Ed." Ed sat up and saw that the world around him had devolved into a child's inoccent crayon drawing. In wonder of this strange marvel, he poked two fingers onto the "grass" and forcefully rubbed it. It felt like wax and... green.

"Ed." There it was again, that faint whisper in the wind. He looked up, then down at his apple to see large emerald green lips on the uneaten side of the apple, "Ed. Eat me. Ed." Ed couldnt resist, and opened his mouth wide, revealing yellowing teeth,he closed his eyes for a moment , and they fluttered open just in time for...

Eddy's annoyed face angrily yelling in his. "Wake up lumpy, Ed, now!"

"Wh-Wh-What?" Ed sat up groggily and blankly stared at Eddy, and as soon as Eddy saw his message was across he relaxed "Jeeze monobrow, were you having one of your weird little fantasies again? You looked like a zombie!"

"Heh Heh Heh... Heh." They both looked at Edd laughing akwardly on the other side of Eddy's "Big book of scams".

Something had changed since earlier that month. He had become sickly pale, dark rims under his eyes,and he always seemed to be looking anxiously over his shoulder as if expecting death himself to be standing there.

He fidgited and weakly tried to change the subject whenever anyone asked him if his paranoria had anything with his thirteenth birthday, which happened to be in six days time.

And he never smiled anymore.

"Are you all right sockhead. Your scaring me." Edd gazed up at Eddy with tired eyes. "Eddy, it's only my day of birth, you know that."

"Yeah, but..." Honestly, Eddy thought this, but noticed something else was hanging over Edd's head, behind Edd, Eddy thought for a moment that he could see a dark figure watching them from the window. but it then disapeared.

"But you seem pretty down, Ya know. It's your birthday right?" Edd nodded, but looked like he was fighting back tears "Yes."

They all then looked over to the door of Edd's house which seemed that there was someone knocking on it from the door slipped open slightly and a white glove made of satin popped out and gestured for Edd to come there.

"Oh, Mother Is calling, one moment fellows." Edd popped up and hurried inside, slamming the door behind him.

Ed and Eddy looked at each other in dismay, these sudden changes in their freind alarmed them and Eddy felt strangely involved, inside the house there was the sound of three people talking, two of the voices seemed to be angry, and one voice considerably higher pitched seemed to be unhappy. Finally, Edd opened the door and sauntered over to Ed and Eddy.

Tears practically covering his eyes, he hoarsly whispered "Sorry my friends "Sniffle" but Mother and Father have forbidden me from being in your prescence, goodbye for now." He turned away and weakly strolled to his door, opened it, cast a sad last glance at his friends, and shut it behind him.

Ed looked at Eddy sadly and Eddy did the same. Why was Edd banned from seeing them? Bad Influences? Birthday Preparations? Who knows. And as The two went there separate ways to their houses, Eddy decided that, no matter what it takes, he would discover the cause of Edd's Problem.

That night, Eddy sat down at his drawer with a pen and paper. Eddy then thought for a moment and clumsily scribbled: Possible Stuff. Thinking again for a second he jotted down below it\:

*Birtday

*Parents

He ran into trouble thinking of a third possibility so he scribbled out the third point. "What the heck could be wrong with sockhead?" he thought back to see if He or Ed had done anything , seeing as they had done nothing, he let out a big yawn and knew it was time for bed.

In a house close to Eddy, was a boy,He Lay curled up in bed with growing nausea of the event most children would anticapate greatly. "Goodnight." He said bluely, as he looked up to see a gloved hand shutting his door.

He crouched alone in the dark with his eyes darting from place to place His gaze eventually came to his ant farm. His once dearly beloved possesion had lately become the object of his hatred.

Squinting, he could just see the hundreds of tiny ants preparing for a feast in their domain. "Young souls... No, nonsense, utter complete nonsense. That "Gift", Once a blessing, he thought.

Now a curse...

So, was that good? Sorry if it isn't. Next chapter will hopefully be a bit better. Speaking about chapters, for the next chapter, I'll need at least two reviews for me to publish it! I know It might be a pain for those who enjoyed it, but I'll get started on it as soon as I can! Until then, see ya soon!

-WickedStar13


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Sorry about the long wait! It was just that I had so many things going on that I completely forgot about In Our Darkest Hours. The writing in the first chapter was bad, but it'll be better from now on, I promise! _

Day 2

The first thing Eddy thought about upon waking up was Edd. Just a simple image of him printed to the back of his eyelids, tired and sickly pale, no less. A slight breeze tickled him, and he opened his eyes as a sheet flitted by. "Huh?" he muttered. He pulled himself up and stared as the piece of paper glided and soared around his room, twisting and turning in the air. It landed shortly on his drawer, neatly sliding halfway under his lava lamp, slightly crinkled, but in good condition. He glanced nervously behind him, had he left the window open all night? No, he was sure he closed it, absolutely one-hundred-and-ten per cent sure.

"_But the window, it's open…"_

He snatched it up and studied it. It wasn't paper, it was a picture. He, Edd and Ed stood together, arms around each other, laughing. It was a happier time, before the revelation at Mondo-agogo. These times it was just dull. Summer had lost its energy, being popular started to get on his nerves. Though scamming was still an option, Eddy had begun to doubt that it would work. And then there was that unfortunate 'The Gourd' incident which resulted in several stitches and trip to hospital for Johnny. On the back of the picture was a strange symbol, or at least, that was what Eddy thought It was.

One peculiar thing that Eddy noticed about the picture, however, was that Edd's face was scratched out.

On the other side of the cul-de-sac, Jimmy and Sarah sat playing in the playground. The game they were playing was called 'Dollies & Doilies' and it was a sort of simulation of a Victorian household. Of course, they wouldn't have described it like that, but it was the general idea. "Care for some tea, Victoria?" Jimmy offered, raising his teacup. "Why, it should only be polite if I were to accept your offer, Jonathon." Sarah replied. The two children giggled, and Jimmy felt himself grin. "If only everyday was like this, Sarah. Then it would be wonderful! We would play and play all day and no one would be meanies to us!" "Eh. I guess." They looked into each other's eyes silently for a few minutes, feeling the refreshing breeze against their faces. "Sarah." Jimmy said, so quietly that it neared a whisper. "Please don't laugh, but… If we- you… you were older, then who would you marry?" The atmosphere seemed heavier for a moment, as if the trees standing over them leaned in to hear her answer. A few seconds passed, and Jimmy looked into her eyes to see that they were gazing behind him. He twisted around, and saw a dark figure pass by on the sidewalk. Jimmy suddenly felt a little afraid. But the figure didn't seem to notice them. Jimmy couldn't see his face. As soon as the man was out of sight, Jimmy spun around and hissed at Sarah. "Who was that?" She looked at him and Jimmy saw an emotion in there that he never saw in her before. Fear. "I think it's one of those people, who go around in candy vans, let's get out of here!"

_Ding Dong_

Eddy stood at the foot of Edd's house with the picture clamped in his hand, incessantly ringing the doorbell.

_Ding Dong Ding Dong Ding Dong_

There was no answer. But Eddy needed an answer **badly**. He needed an answer of the door, and he needed an answer about the picture.

_-_

The door was wrenched open, Edd stood inside, and he looked like he'd been crying. "Eddy… I can't talk to you. You know that." He whispered. "And YOU know something too! What's with the picture Double D? Why did you do that to your face? And that thing on the back-"As soon as Edd saw the picture, his eyes widened in shock. "Where did you get that!" he yelped, in one quick motion he grabbed the picture and jumped further into the hall before Eddy could snatch it back. Eddy stared at him; the rest of the world seemed silent. Edd gaped at the photo. "Eddy! Tell me where you got this picture! You have to tell me now." Eddy calmly backed away. "Hey, hey, calm down! It just flew in the window, OK? I thought I closed it, but it was actually open." The silence that followed as Edd stared at him was almost unbearable. "Alright, I believe you. I've… I've seen this symbol before, Eddy. It's the symbol of the Hawaiian god of luck. But I don't know about the scratches. I've never seen the picture. Goodbye." The door slammed shut in Eddy's face. He stood in shock, and then his disbelief was replaced with anger.

Eddy kneeled down and peered through the basement window. Lumpy was staring at his TV, watching something. From where Eddy was, it appeared to be the original _Halloween_. He opened the window and slid inside. "Ed, I need your help. Are you any good at idenif- Idefin- Identifying symbols? I found a symbol on a photo but Sockhead took it. And since it looks like the type people find scrawled over the walls in every scary movie I thought that… Y'know, maybe you could see what it means?" Ed looked at him briefly, and then turned his attention back to the TV. "What's it like Eddy? Is it a circle or an oval or a triangle or a square?" "I'll draw it." He picked up a blue crayon and started to scribble on the wall. Two diamonds, vertical and horizontal were making a crossroad with an 'A' in the middle. When he was done, Eddy stood aside and let Ed study it. In the amount of time that Ed took to study it, Eddy saw that he was watching _Child's Play_. He gazed at the bombsite that was Ed's room.

"Uh… Yes, yes, it is the symbol of a god." Ed declared, with rising excitement in his voice. "See, Eddy! It's a god, a GOD! You're the one who has been chosen by Azabada, to rise against the vampire-zombie legions of Amusaduslir!" "Okay Ed." Eddy said, backing towards the window. "Thanks and bye."

"_Hmmm…."_ Eddy thought. Was Peach Creek Town Library open? Wasn't it open right now? Was Ed telling the truth about the symbol representing a god? Or maybe Edd was right, but Eddy really didn't think he was telling the truth, 'No.' it was decided. He was acting _far _too suspicious to be telling the truth. Research would have to be done. Any other day, Eddy would have brushed it off, but Edd's fear over his birthday, the ban on seeing him, and the picture were just too many coincidences. Something would _have_ to be done.

When Eddy arrived at the Town Library, there was a tall, slightly overweight woman reading at the checkout desk. She didn't notice Eddy, despite the disquieting thumping sounds his shoes made against the floorboards. He went straight to the _Nonfiction_ section and started to search for every book he could find on gods. Books like: _The Gods of Ancient Greece, The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Gods, Gods and Goddesses __from around__ the World, Religious Mythology, _and _Mythology Alphabet: G is for God_. Eddy started to read _The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Gods_ first, and spent a whole hour reading the book in an large uncomfortable antique armchair. He found nothing that matched the Hawaiian God of Luck or the strange crossroad symbol with an 'A' in it. He read _Mythology Alphabet: G is for God_, which wasn't very helpful either. Finally he picked up _Gods and Goddesses from around The World._ As he opened it, a page slid out and landed on the floor. Eddy reached down to get it, and something caught his eye. A notebook, a tiny blue notebook hidden under the bookshelf, dusty and chained down by cobwebs in the dark. Eddy stared at it for a moment.

"_Just like a movie…"_

He picked it up. _Gods_ was scratched into the front, it seemed to be a diary of some sort. Eddy wiped away the dust and opened it. It was a collection of gods. Every page had a symbol the indicated the god. Eddy flitted through the book, his heart pounding.

His heart stopped on page 53.

_So was that good? Now I'm going to focus on writing the first chapter of a Sci fi/action Ed Edd n' Eddy fanfic now, it'll be called 'City of Hope'. To post the next chapter, I'm going to need another __**6**__ reviews that mean 16 reviews in total._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

_I just noticed something. I posted the second chapter EXACTLY a year after posting the first. (Updates will never take that long again.)_

The page was yellowed and crinkled, and Eddy could plainly see:

_Ant God: Aibuit_

_This symbol is of the dibunan god of ants and wisdom, Aibuit (Eye-voo) he is relatively unknown, but there are small communities around the USA that worship him. Not much more is known about Aibuit. For more information on the forgotten gods of America, turn to page 63-65, 80-86, and 14-15._

That was all he needed to know. Edd was going to hear about this. He would tell the truth. Eddy had the evidence. He tore the page out and slipped it into his pocket. The books that stood in a pile beside him toppled over. Eddy stood up and quietly exited the shop, hoping that the librarian at the checkout desk didn't see him. No, she lay face down, snoring quietly. Gee, how long had he been in there? The top of the sun was just visible over the crimson horizon. A sliver of moonlight was steadily rising in the sky. It must have been five hours or somethin'.

As he walked down the street, Eddy couldn't help but notice the quietness, normally there would be at least crickets and owls, but tonight was completely silent. It was dark too. He felt like he was being watched, like the shadows that stretched over him were murderers, burglars and ghosts. He could see the outline of the houses and trees and everything else, the thin line that separated the ground and the sky, but they almost became weird and wonderful creatures, delusions of a frightened mind.

"_Just keep walking, Eddy my man. Just keep walking."_

The sun had completely gone by now, he was enveloped by the darkness. It was unbearable. He wanted to get out of here. To a warm, cozy place. To his bedroom, in his bed, the lights turned low. Smooth jazz on the record player. That would be nice. Suddenly an upstairs window to his left was illuminated. It was Double D's window. He suddenly remembered. Eddy walked up to the house and picked up a stone. He threw it at the window. It landed with a hard thud and fell meekly to the ground. Edd's silhouette filled the window.

"Eddy!" He hissed, opening the window.

"Stop!"

"You lied, Sockhead. I know about the ant god."

"Eddy, what are you talking about?"

"Oh you _know _what I'm talking about." Edd stopped.

"Fine." Eddy realized that he was crying.

"Come up, come up, I'll tell you about it." He went out of sight for a second, and then returned with a device of some sort. He pressed a button and placed it on his window sill, it clunked, than rattled, than a ladder slowly drew out until it touched the ground.

"Climb up." Eddy tottered forward then hesitated. This was too frickin' weird to be real. He grabbed hold of the ladder and began to climb up to the shaft of light.

In the darkness, something was watching.

Edd sat on his bed, legs crossed, clutching the photo with the symbol on it to his chest. His face was red and blotchy, tears clinging to his chin. Flies glided around his head. He hadn't showered in days.

"You want to know." He stated monotonously. Eddy stared at him.

"You want to know, don't you? Isn't that why you came here?" He asked. Eddy nodded slowly, and watched a single tear drop from Edd's chin.

"Fine." He said, with sudden viciousness.

"My parents- my mother and father, were in a cult, it worshipped an ant god. His servants are said to be ants, ants with the souls of children. They serve and care for him on another plane." They locked gazes, Edd reached for his ant farm.

"The so-called servants' physical bodies are kept in here. It was given to me as a gift. I was forced into the cult, Eddy, I had no choice." Eddy could barely believe what he was hearing.

"All the cult members have children, and they train them to the best of their abilities, but I'm hopeless at sports. Then they… Then they fight to the death, to become one of the ant god's servants, it's like a blessing for them. I don't know anything else. I will be one of those children." Eddy noticed that Edd was shaking, trembling, his voice started to wobble.

"The last one remaining, something happens to him, that's all I know, but Eddy, I-I don't want to be one of those children, Eddy, I don't want to d-die!"

Edd shoved his face into the bed sheets and started to sob. Eddy hugged him, and tried to comfort him.

"Shhh! Shhh! Quiet, no one's going to die Double D. It'll be fine."

"No, no it won't!" Edd cried, his voice slightly muffled by the bed sheets, but Eddy was only paying half of his attention to him. There was a shape at the window. Someone was climbing up the ladder. Eddy threw himself at the window; it slammed shut, throwing the person off-guard. He wobbled for a second, then fell, with a short cry, to the ground. Eddy leaned over to see that the figure was nowhere in sight.

"Eddward? Eddward, is that you? Eddward!" A voice called. Edd looked at Eddy urgently.

"You have to get out of here," he hissed.

"They're coming!" Eddy nodded and began to open the window again. He slipped through and began to climb down the ladder.

"The cult knows now! You aren't safe anymore! Get out, Eddy, before it's too late. Run, and don't stop running, don't stop until you drop in exhaustion, you'll know in the morning if you've escaped. " Eddy jumped from the ladder, landing on the grass painlessly. He stumbled from the light, hearing a door open.

"Eddward, why is the light on? The window… EDDWARD!" A feminine voice screamed. There was a short silence before Eddy heard shrieks of pain.

"Aibuit will not stand for this! Eddward you foul, wretched, monstrous, evil, wicked creature! You will _pay_ for your sins." Eddy felt something big and heavy sharply jab him. He flipped onto the grass, clutching his abdomen in pain. The thing climbed on top of him, significantly making it harder to breath. Eddy felt the cool, sharp blade of a knife against his neck.

"You little brat, do you know what you have done? You have ruined the purification of a possible servant." A voice snarled in his ear.

"Now I will punish you, and then you will die." It whispered, something began to pull down Eddy's pants. He realized what sick punishment was coming.

"NO!" he screamed. With all his might, he threw the cult member off him. He scrambled to get up, and he was pushed down.

"Why you!" he snarled. The man wrapped his hands around Eddy's neck and tightened his grip. Eddy attempted to pull the hands apart, but to no avail. A single, torturous minute passed, of which was filled with the sounds of struggle. The world began to fade, and Eddy, in his helplessness, let go. His hand fell on something… the knife! Eddy clutched the knife and sharply jerked it into his assailant. He let out a scream and pushed himself off Eddy. It stumbled off into the night screaming:

"MY EYE! MY EYE!"

Eddy, stunned, walked quietly back home, letting the events of tonight settle in.

End of Chapter 3

_I only have one thing to say about this chapter: if that isn't a harrowing experience, I don't know what is._


	4. UP FOR ADOPTION

***UP FOR ADOPTION***

****I am putting _In Our Darkest Hours _up for adoption. If you are interested, please contact me.


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